sharveyNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94From poverty concerns to major policy decisions, this series dives beyond the headlines to provide in-depth coverage of issues facing people and organizations in the Ozarks. KSMU's team of reporters combine for 10 stories each quarter, to air the final weeks of March, June, September and December.NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Sense of CommunityFri, 09 Dec 2016 05:36:17 +0000Sense of Communityhttp://ksmu.org
Randy StewartIn addition to actually hosting high school juniors and seniors on-site, area businesses can get involved in GO CAPS in various ways. One of them is to host not high school students, but teachers. One local business that has offered teachers several days’ worth of hands-on experience to take back to their classes is Elemoose, a Springfield business that fabricates signage, exhibits, sculptures, stage sets and more for clients across the country including Silver Dollar City, Dunkin’ Donuts, Disney, Bass Pro, Six Flags, and Dollywood. I wasn’t able to get together with the Elemoose folks in time for this piece, because they are currently up to their necks in putting together a major proposal for a big client. But I did talk to two area art teachers who spent four days last summer working with the artisans and technicians at Elemoose. It’s what GO CAPS calls its “Extern” program. “Last year, at the end of the year, they told us that GO CAPs—there was an opportunity to do the ExternshipsGO CAPS: Area Art Teachers Learn How Art and Manufacturing Intersect http://ksmu.org/post/go-caps-area-art-teachers-learn-how-art-and-manufacturing-intersect
47182 as http://ksmu.orgFri, 30 Sep 2016 13:35:00 +0000GO CAPS: Area Art Teachers Learn How Art and Manufacturing Intersect Randy StewartThe Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce GO CAPS program hosts area high school juniors and seniors on-site at various local businesses, including the eFactory and the classroom facility at Cox Health. SRC—Springfield ReManufacturing Corporation—has provided GO CAPS with a sizeable office suite, suitable for instruction space, at their offices on East Division Street. Here’s where students interested in engineering and manufacturing attend a daily two-and-a-half-hour session, either morning or afternoon, throughout the school year. GO CAPS instructor Darrin Earhart would rather not call it a “classroom, because this is their opportunity to get away from the school, get away from the classroom, and experience something different. Our objective here is to emulate the business environment.” He points out the 17 or so students working in the background at 4-person desks. “They all have devices—they’re doing business research on business partners they might want to job-shadow or do aThe Art of Engineering and Manufacturing With GO CAPShttp://ksmu.org/post/art-engineering-and-manufacturing-go-caps
47183 as http://ksmu.orgFri, 30 Sep 2016 13:25:00 +0000The Art of Engineering and Manufacturing With GO CAPSTheresa BettmanIt’s just after 8:00 am on a Friday morning and I’m surrounded by 17 area high school juniors and seniors, dressed in business-casual attire and reflecting upon their week. This is the first day back in their typical GO CAPS classroom after spending the previous four days on site at Springfield businesses. The group has been learning important aspects of professionalism, and what these businesses have to offer in engineering and manufacturing. One of those students is Wyatt Comstock. “ The business things they’re teaching us now in GOCAPS …how you should act in a business environment and all of the manufacturing stuff we’re seeing now really gives the experience of what you can do when you get out of high school. Like we’ve learned the dress code, how to act in an interview, how to write an email, how to leave a voicemail for someone,” explains Comstock. Comstock is a senior at Strafford High School who has plans to go to welding school after he graduates high school. He enjoys theGOCAPS: Building Strong Engineers and Manufacturers at a Younger Agehttp://ksmu.org/post/gocaps-building-strong-engineers-and-manufacturers-younger-age
47166 as http://ksmu.orgThu, 29 Sep 2016 21:45:00 +0000GOCAPS: Building Strong Engineers and Manufacturers at a Younger AgeKathryn EutslerThis group of teenagers huddled in this business parking lot during school hours isn’t playing hooky. They’re preparing to go to class inside SRC Electrical in Springfield. Once inside, they’re greeted by Erin Malone, a human resources manager with rectangle glasses and a big smile. MALONE: “Are we ready? Right this way…” The students, dressed neatly in their brightly colored collared shirts and dresses, shuffle down a hallway… “Take a left…” …into a bright room lined with huge windows and a large projection screen. “What we’re going to do today is go through a basic new hire orientation,” explains Malone. For the next two hours, these teenagers will learn the ins and outs of an SRC electrical employee’s job as part of the Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies, or, GOCAPS program. The 14 students come from various area high schools, and are all considering pursuing a career in engineering. “The GOCAPS program gets students actually involved in business projects,”Blending In: Aspiring Engineers "Hired" at SRC Electrical for the Afternoonhttp://ksmu.org/post/blending-aspiring-engineers-hired-src-electrical-afternoon
47164 as http://ksmu.orgThu, 29 Sep 2016 12:45:00 +0000Blending In: Aspiring Engineers "Hired" at SRC Electrical for the AfternoonMichele SkalickyThis morning on KSMU's Sense of Community Series, KSMU's Michele Skalicky talked with educators and administrators with GO CAPS. In this segment, she talks with students in the program. Students in the Medicine and Health Care Strand of GO CAPS are exposed to a variety of aspects of the health field during the school year. They not only shadow professionals, they also have a chance to help find solutions to problems. Some projects have included developing a dog bite prevention presentation and lesson for elementary-aged kids with the Springfield-Greene County Health Department and developing a plan to educate staff members at an area hospital on the importance of hand washing in patient care. Abby Boehs, a senior from Republic, is in her second year of the program, which meets 2 and a half hours each weekday during the school year. She said last year she job shadowed, helped with a mock disaster drill and got hands-on experience through labs in the classroom. "We would do urinalysisGO CAPS Helps Students Determine a Career Path Before Graduating High Schoolhttp://ksmu.org/post/go-caps-helps-students-determine-career-path-graduating-high-school
47129 as http://ksmu.orgWed, 28 Sep 2016 21:37:00 +0000GO CAPS Helps Students Determine a Career Path Before Graduating High SchoolMichele SkalickyA program offered to area juniors and seniors lets them try out a career before they leave high school. KSMU's Michele Skalicky has more. High school students in the Ozarks are getting a firsthand look at what it’s like to work in the field of healthcare through the GO CAPS program. They’re in the Medicine and Health Care Strand of GO CAPS, a program offered by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, which lets them test drive a career. There are 79 students involved in that strand this year. Cox site instructor, Ryan Lacson, said GO CAPS differs from other career-focused programs they offer in that it emphasizes career immersion. "In Medical Explorers they may go shadow a cardiologist, but that's it. With GO CAPS, they might identify a problem that cardiologists, cardiac nurses, whomever in that industry or in that specialty, what's a problem they deal with? And then the students will actually try to develop a solution to it," he said. Mercy site instructor, Mary Edgerton, said GOStudents Interested in Healthcare Find their Passion in GO CAPShttp://ksmu.org/post/students-interested-healthcare-find-their-passion-go-caps
47124 as http://ksmu.orgWed, 28 Sep 2016 12:35:08 +0000Students Interested in Healthcare Find their Passion in GO CAPSScott HarveyJustin Bearden has aspirations of humanitarian work abroad, using his engineering experience to build facilities for under-served populations. “Whether it just be housing or whether it be a hospital, schools, churches. Whatever it may be I just wanna be able to use my engineering knowledge to be able to help with that and make sure it’s a good, lasting structure,” says Bearden. This may not be the type of future goal you typically hear from an 18-year-old college freshmen from Willard. But Bearden’s outlook on life, and his professional interests and capabilities, were shaped in high school. That’s thanks in part to the Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies, or GO CAPS, program. “I think before GO CAPS I just kinda wanted to give back to the world and I had no idea what I wanted to do. But I think through GO CAPS, through my experience, I realized what I can do.” This realization is not an uncommon one for GO CAPS graduates. The yearlong course for high schoolHow GO CAPS Guided an Aspiring Engineer, Is Enhancing the Industryhttp://ksmu.org/post/how-go-caps-guided-aspiring-engineer-enhancing-industry
47094 as http://ksmu.orgTue, 27 Sep 2016 21:48:43 +0000How GO CAPS Guided an Aspiring Engineer, Is Enhancing the IndustryScott HarveyChris Kays prepares to share some tricks of the trade before roughly 30 high school students from across the Ozarks. The owner of F1 Computing Solutions is speaking to a GO CAPS class inside the eFactory near downtown Springfield. “Any business model has to be dynamic. It has to change with the times, with the trends, with whatever’s going on in your industry. And you have to continuously research that and keep that up to date,” Kays says. This year’s classes for the Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies are about a month in. Students like Colton King, a Nixa High School senior, are getting a better idea of the skills and attitude needed to operate a business. “The principals of entrepreneurship – he [Kays] elaborated on that," King recalled. "One of them being passion. Having a lot of passion for what you do. And I do think that’s a very key role.” Course strands include engineering and manufacturing, medicine and healthcare, technology solutions, andInside a GO CAPS Classroom, Outside of Mainstream Educationhttp://ksmu.org/post/inside-go-caps-classroom-outside-mainstream-education
46972 as http://ksmu.orgTue, 27 Sep 2016 12:45:00 +0000Inside a GO CAPS Classroom, Outside of Mainstream EducationMike SmithKSMU Producer Mike Smith: “Earlier today, on the first installment of this week’s KSMU Sense of Community Series, we met David Clark, on the job at SRC Automotive. David was hired by SRC 2 weeks after graduating from Ozark High School, and after completing 7 months of work force and professional development training with The Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies, or GO-CAPS.” SRC Employee David Clark: “I see a great future with this company. SRC has a great tuition reimbursement program. For example, I want to learn how to weld. I’m going to take some classes at OTC.” Mike Smith: “In August, 2015, at the start of his senior year, David Clark learned about an enrollment opportunity for juniors and seniors that was so new, it hadn’t been added to the curriculum.” David Clark: “They started pitching it to some of the classrooms. One of my counselors came in and said this is what’s going on. It sounded really interesting to me.” Mike Smith: “The class, David ClarkBusinesses, Students, and Communities Benefit Through GO-CAPShttp://ksmu.org/post/businesses-students-and-communities-benefit-through-go-caps
47046 as http://ksmu.orgMon, 26 Sep 2016 21:30:00 +0000Businesses, Students, and Communities Benefit Through GO-CAPSMike SmithSRC Employee, David Clark: “When I heard GO-CAPS Engineering & Manufacturing was partnering with SRC, (Springfield Re-Manufacturing Corp.) that’s what really told me, I need to get onto this. I’m very lucky to get in and do a program like this. I’ve talked to a lot of people who are a lot older than me, and they all say the same thing, they wish they had a program like this when they were a kid.” Producer Mike Smith: “David Clark is a 2016 graduate of Ozark high school, and a big reason why he’s working full time at SRC Automotive today, is because Clark is also a 2015 inaugural class graduate of GO-CAPS, The Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies. Think Vo-Tech for the 21 st Century.” Lindsay Haymes: “So, GO-CAPS is a Jr. Sr. career exploration program. It’s innovative, as we are trying to connect students to their careers. We want then to understand what the options are in our area. We want them to be able understand what it takes to be successful in theirGO-CAPS Motto: Test Drive Your Careerhttp://ksmu.org/post/go-caps-motto-test-drive-your-career
47027 as http://ksmu.orgMon, 26 Sep 2016 12:30:00 +0000GO-CAPS Motto: Test Drive Your CareerScott Harvey“I survived. May 22, 2011.” Those are the words on the shirt of Dave Hodges. The words accompany an image of a pickup truck – its windows blown out - parked next to Commerce Bank along 20 th Street in Joplin. There’s debris everywhere. Inside that truck is where he and his wife, Lynn, rode out the storm five years ago. “And at the time we were thinking – I know I was thinking – if anything bigger than this pea-sized stuff that’s hitting me right now comes through and hits me it’s gonna be over,” he said. It is Sunday, May 22, 2016 – five years after the storm. The couple has setup their lawn chairs under a tree at Cunningham Park. The venue played host to a “Gathering of Remembrance and Hope.” “This is the first time I’ve ever wore it [the shirt]. And I thought it would be a pretty good day to wear it,” Hodges says. The Hodges joined hundreds at the ceremony which was the culmination in a series of events marking the fifth anniversary of the storm. They ranged from a disaster recoveryMarking Love, Help, and Resilience: A Final Salute to Joplin at Year 5http://ksmu.org/post/marking-love-help-and-resilience-final-salute-joplin-year-5
41791 as http://ksmu.orgMon, 23 May 2016 22:49:36 +0000Marking Love, Help, and Resilience: A Final Salute to Joplin at Year 5Michele SkalickyIn this segment of KSMU's Sense of Community Series, Michele Skalicky highlights a celebration taking place five years after the deadly storm. Sunday was a day of celebration for some in Joplin, a community devastated five years ago when an EF-5 tornado swept through the middle of the city. While it was the anniversary of the deadly storm, it was also graduation day for Joplin High School. “Pomp and circumstance” Dr. Kerry Sachetta, Joplin High School principal: "My name is Kerry Sachetta, and as principal of Joplin High School, I would like to welcome you here today on behalf of the faculty and staff of our school. This marks Joplin's 130th high school graduation ceremony." Eighteen-year-old Emily Huddleston was among about 435 students who crossed the stage at Missouri Southern State University’s Leggett & Platt Athletic Center to receive her diploma. Announcer: “Emily Huddleston” (cheers) She and her classmates had an unusual high school experience. They spent their first twoOn Anniversary of Deadly Storm, Joplin High School Honors its Graduateshttp://ksmu.org/post/anniversary-deadly-storm-joplin-high-school-honors-its-graduates
41745 as http://ksmu.orgMon, 23 May 2016 12:30:00 +0000On Anniversary of Deadly Storm, Joplin High School Honors its GraduatesScott HarveyFor natural disaster victims, the length of a recovery has become synonymous with the distance of a marathon. The goal is to successfully sprint out of the gates during the initial response, providing necessary services and supplies. But recovery is realized in years, not months. Joplin City Manager Sam Anselm said, “Knowing the people in your communities, what their capabilities are, is gonna be key in terms of shortening that marathon time, I think.” “Everything that you hope to rebuild your city has to begin in that initial response so that you’re citizens feel confident in local, state and federal government,” Tuscaloosa, Alabama Mayor Walter Maddox said. Maddox - whose city suffered 53 fatalities in a April 20111 tornado - joined Anselm and other leaders from tornado-stricken communities at a session of the Disaster Recovery Summit in Joplin Thursday. "When you have your event, everyone rushes to your community," said Maddox. "You may even get a visit by the president and highLong Road to Disaster Recovery Starts and Ends with Community Supporthttp://ksmu.org/post/long-road-disaster-recovery-starts-and-ends-community-support
41722 as http://ksmu.orgSat, 21 May 2016 22:54:51 +0000Long Road to Disaster Recovery Starts and Ends with Community SupportRandy StewartDr. Hubert Bird spent 30 years on the music faculty of the University System of New Hamphire, and has had a distinguished career as a composer, conductor, educator, and as a tenor soloist. Dr. Bird was born in Joplin, Missouri and grew up in nearby Baxter Springs, Kansas, where he now lives. Like the rest of the world, he was stunned by the devastation suffered by the city of Joplin in the May 22 nd , 2011 EF-5 tornado. As he told me on the phone from his home last week, Dr. Bird went to Joplin to see just how bad it was. “I saw the devastation right after the tornado happened,” he said, then added a correction. “I should say, not right after, because I waited about ten days or so before I would go over there.” Shocked and stunned by what he saw, Dr. Bird told me he utterly “lost it.” When he returned home to Baxter Springs, he got in contact with an old friend, Colonel L. Bryan Shelburne, retired conductor of the United States Army Band in Washington, DC, and now living in Georgia. AsThe Other Side of Storm – Revisitedhttp://ksmu.org/post/other-side-storm-revisited
41714 as http://ksmu.orgSat, 21 May 2016 19:39:08 +0000The Other Side of Storm – RevisitedMichele SkalickyIn this segment of KSMU's Sense of Community Series, Michele Skalicky talks with participants in Journal Joplin, one of the ways the city is observing the fifth anniversary of the tornado. There are 161 journals—one for each person who lost his or her life in the Joplin tornado on May 22, 2011. And the stories in each are unique to those who wrote in them. This project, called Journal Joplin, is part of the fifth anniversary observation of the storm that tore through the town in the early evening of that late spring day, changing people’s lives forever. But these journals are a chance for healing. The idea came from Ann Leach, a Joplin resident and grief relief coach. She realized that, while events celebrating how far the city has come in five years were being planned, not everyone has been able to move forward. "We're still many stuck at 5:41 pm on May 22, 2011, and perhaps a more private way to remember and reflect would be more appropriate. And so the journals are a way that folksHealing Through Journaling Five Years After the Stormhttp://ksmu.org/post/healing-through-journaling-five-years-after-storm
41561 as http://ksmu.orgFri, 20 May 2016 21:41:00 +0000Healing Through Journaling Five Years After the StormEmily McTavishThe number of Federal Emergency Management Agency safe rooms in Missouri has more than doubled since an EF5 tornado hit Joplin in 2011. According to the State Emergency Management Agency, 72 FEMA safe rooms were completed across the state between 2012 and February of this year. Joplin now has14 total community safe rooms, with the newest one inside Columbia Elementary. Jim Hounschell, director of safety and security at Joplin Public Schools, says prior to the tornado, there weren’t any safe rooms for either the students or the public. “There are a lot of areas and they just can’t afford their own safe rooms within their garage or wherever,” Hounschell says. “So this is a great benefit to them.” FEMA assists in funding the construction of safe rooms through either the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program or Pre-Disaster Mitigation Funds. To qualify, a community must have experienced a major disastrous event. The FEMA grants will pay for up to 75 percent of the project to build the shelter,Since Joplin Tornado, Dozens of Safe Rooms Built in Area Schools, Communitieshttp://ksmu.org/post/joplin-tornado-dozens-safe-rooms-built-area-schools-communities
41193 as http://ksmu.orgFri, 20 May 2016 12:45:00 +0000Since Joplin Tornado, Dozens of Safe Rooms Built in Area Schools, CommunitiesKathryn Eutsler“Remember when we first brought her, how hard that was," says Leslie, my mom. My mom, my brother, and I stand in an empty lot on Moffet Street in Joplin. It probably doesn’t seem like a particularly sentimental scene: a man in a ball cap is mowing the grass, the sun is shining; We’re just three people standing there in our shorts, shading our eyes from the sun. “We left her here and she kept saying, ‘when are you going to come back," mom remembers. Six years ago, we moved our 85-year-old Aunt Geneva from our home in Joplin to a nursing home called Greenbrier. And five years ago, on May 22, an EF-5 tornado ripped through Joplin—turning the Greenbrier Nursing home into an indistinguishable pile of rubble. Our Aunt Geneva lost her life. “It still makes me so sad,” says my mom. Now, all that’s left is a desolate, empty lot. But there are still traces of the building here—as my brother, Mitchell, points out. “You can actually see some of the rooms right here…the hallway behind me…” MovingGoing Back to Joplin to Move Forward: My Memories of May 22, 2011http://ksmu.org/post/going-back-joplin-move-forward-my-memories-may-22-2011
41384 as http://ksmu.orgThu, 19 May 2016 21:44:00 +0000Going Back to Joplin to Move Forward: My Memories of May 22, 2011Randy StewartThe facts of the story are all too familiar by now—especially to those who lived through it. On Sunday May 22 nd , 2011, the most devastating level of tornado, an EF-5 packing winds of over 200 miles per hour, tore through Joplin, Missouri. The ¾-mile-wide twister touched down at the western city limits of Joplin, stayed on the ground clear across the city for six miles, and continued another seven miles into the town of Duquesne and into rural Jasper and Newton counties. 161 people lost their lives that afternoon. Now, it’s been five years since the Joplin tornado. It would be very easy for anyone who doesn’t live in Joplin to assume that the city’s recovery is already complete, or must be nearing completion. It’s been five years... what’s left to do? Actually, quite a bit. The city has definitely made progress, according to Joplin’s City Planning and Development Director Troy Bolander. But he warns, “There’s actually a lot to do. This is a marathon—redevelopment and recovery does notFacts and Figures from the Joplin Tornado: What Did It Cost?http://ksmu.org/post/facts-and-figures-joplin-tornado-what-did-it-cost
41562 as http://ksmu.orgThu, 19 May 2016 12:45:00 +0000Facts and Figures from the Joplin Tornado: What Did It Cost?Theresa BettmanFive years ago, this section of Joplin was littered with debris after an EF-5 tore through the city, killing 161 people. Today, the area known as “ground zero” at Cunningham Park has been rebuilt with many memorials, a children’s play area, and peaceful Butterfly Garden and overlook. Lynn Onstot, the city’s public information office, explains the significance of this site as it was a central region of devastation when the storm hit. In the first days after the tornado this park became gathering place for media, press conferences and volunteers to come together after the storm. Today, Cunningham Park has many memorials within its ground including a volunteer tribute memorial recognizing the countless man-hours and people who helped, and continue to help, with the recovery effort. According to data compiled by the city after the storm, more than 7,500 dwellings were damaged or destroyed, affected 17,000 people. That left much work to be done. Sam Anseln, Joplin city manager, says anFive Years Later-Volunteerism and Resiliency Central to Recovery Efforthttp://ksmu.org/post/five-years-later-volunteerism-and-resiliency-central-recovery-effort
41534 as http://ksmu.orgWed, 18 May 2016 21:45:00 +0000Five Years Later-Volunteerism and Resiliency Central to Recovery EffortEmily McTavishThe city of Joplin has been readying to observe the fifth anniversary of the EF-5 tornado that devastated the community on May 22, 2011. Joplin Proud , an organization comprised of community volunteers, is hosting a series of events starting Thursday and leading up to Sunday, May 22. Gary Bandy is a retired meteorologist and member of the Joplin Proud committee. He says questionnaires were sent out in 2014 asking citizens of Joplin and the neighboring community of Duquesne, which was also hit by the tornado, how they wanted to commemorate the fifth anniversary and the 161 lives lost. “This has in the past few years really become the defining moment of the city of Joplin and Duquesne, Missouri,” Bandy says. “If you lived here at the time you know the impact it made on you whether you lost someone, whether you lost property. You undoubtedly know someone who did, who lost both.” Bandy says the most impactful event will be the Joplin Disaster Recovery Summit. The two-day event runsJoplin Prepares to Commemorate Fifth Anniversary of Tornado with Series of Events http://ksmu.org/post/joplin-prepares-commemorate-fifth-anniversary-tornado-series-events
41330 as http://ksmu.orgWed, 18 May 2016 13:03:09 +0000Joplin Prepares to Commemorate Fifth Anniversary of Tornado with Series of Events